The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Mohammed Bello has tested positive for COVID-19. In a statement he personally signed on Friday, Bello said he started feeling sick on Tuesday and went for test which result came out positive on Friday morning. He also added that experts informed him that his case is mild because he took two shots of the COVID-19 vaccine. “After a hide and seek period spanning 21 months (1yr 9 months) between COVID-19 and my humble self, the virus finally caught up with me during the dying days of 2021. After feeling unwell from 28th…
Author: Editor
The UK Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, has pledged up to £105 million of UK emergency aid to help vulnerable countries tackle the Omicron Covid-19 variant, with a particular focus on Africa. The vital aid will be delivered through trusted partners, such as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), and will: “Scale-up testing – especially in parts of Africa where testing rates for Covid-19 remain lowest – allowing health systems to track and respond to the spread of the virus more effectively. This is in addition to the UK’s world-leading genomic sequencing support. “Improve access to oxygen supplies for ventilators…
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday, signed the 2022 Appropriation Bill of N17.126 trillion into law. The budget was presented to him by his Senior Special Assistant (Senate) on National Assembly, Senator Babajide Omoworare, at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa in Abuja. He however expressed displeasure with some changes as well as major additions and reductions made by the National Assembly, NASS, in critical projects ‘without justification’. Buhari highlighted some of the worrisome changes in the budget to include an increase in projected federal government independent revenue by N400 billion, reduction in the provision for Sinking Fund to Retire…
On this last day of 2021, my closing thoughts are focused the message from the Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, that residents of the state should arm themselves and confront bandits because security officials alone cannot tackle escalating insecurity. Katsina, like other North-west states of Zamfara, Kaduna, Sokoto and Kebbi, have suffered the worst year in their history as armed bandits kill people with impunity, rape their women and girls, kidnap people for ransom, tax communities and burn down those that refuse to pay their tax. They have now reached the stage where they have started appointing new “traditional” rulers…
The operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, on Wednesday, arrested three drug traffickers, wearing uniforms of security agencies to escape scrutiny. A statement by the spokesperson of the agency, Femi Babafemi on Thursday, said they were arrested with over 427 kilograms of illicit drugs in Borno state and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. “While Yakubu Kotri, impersonating as a military personnel was arrested on Wednesday, 29th December driving a gulf car loaded with Cannabis Sativa weighing 208 kilograms on his way to Bama, Borno state, another suspect, Salisu Mohammed who adorned the uniform of another security agency…
Zamfara state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has alleged that the attack on the venue of its congress on Monday, was sponsored by state actors. The state party secretary, Abba Bello made the allegation in a statement on Thursday. According to him, “The untimely intervention by the relevant Security agencies to forestall the gruesome act that lasted almost three hours, coupled with the security agencies’ inability to arrest and bring the suspects to book, has compelled us to conclude that the arsonists and their sponsors are State actors. “The people of Zamfara state are aware of the heavy…
Your letter titled “My Disappointment Over Unprovoked Outburst Against The People of the Niger Delta Region” came to my attention on my return from the Horn of Africa on Christmas eve. After very careful and close study of your letter, I decided to respond to your letter also openly for general education of all and to clear some misconception and misperception on your part. First, my visit to you on the evening of Monday, December 13, 2021, was both a condolence and get-well-quick visit to you that had nothing to do with Bishop Sunday Onucha meeting which I attended the…
With benefit of hindsight, Agriculture has been a live-wire of Nigeria’s nation with the inordinate potential to make the country great. It is however the most neglected sector, which is lackadaisically served with empty promises and false hopes over the last three decades. This column has written a series of articles on Agriculture with the latest piece on World Food Day, which was published on 14th and 21st October 2021. Nigeria’s leadership pays appalling lip service to the agricultural sector at different levels of governance from local government to federal. Over the years, Agriculture receives low investment from both State…
By Babagana Wakil, Maiduguri Borno state governor Prof. Babagana Zulum has commended the Nigerian Military for promoting 19 gallant officers of the Theatre of Operation Hadin Kai from the ranks of colonel to Brigadier General. The governor made the commendation at the decoration event which took place at the officers mess at Maimalari Cantonment, Maiduguri on Tuesday. Represented by the commissioner for Justice and Attorney General Barrister Kaka Lawan, Zulum said the state government is ready collaborate with the theatre of the operation. The governor charged the newly decorated Brigadier Generals to remember that they were promoted because they had…
China on Monday unveiled two shortened negative lists for foreign investment, as part of efforts to further open up the economy and promote high-quality economic development. This marks the fifth consecutive year that the world’s second largest economy has revised its national negative list and pilot free trade zone (FTZ) negative list. The number of items that are off-limits for foreign investors will be cut to 31 in the 2021 version of the national negative list from 33 in the 2020 version, according to a statement jointly released by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of…